Winter Joy
by TitansRule
Summary: AU. Rogue and Remy spend some time with their baby daughter and make plans for the future. Missing moments from 'All's Fair in Love and War', but can be read alone. T because I'm paranoid; it's closer to K. Romy with minor Lancitty and a hint of Amyro.
1. Proposal

**Disclaimer: XME isn't mine.**

**This is a missing moment from my AU story 'All's Fair in Love and War', but can be read alone. All you need to know is that Gambit joined the X-Men after the events of 'Stuff of Heroes' and Rogue learnt to control her powers around the same time; her real name's Anna and everyone knows that; and they have a two-month-old daughter named Lorelai Katherine LeBeau. If you want to know more, check out my other story! **

**Dedicated to my lovely new baby cousin, Charlie!**

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Chapter One – Proposal

Summer in New York is said to be paradise. And it could be, with warm evenings, sunny afternoons, laughter and joy ringing out everywhere.

But, for Rogue, it was the winters that she loved.

The grounds of the Xavier Institute seemed to go on forever and, when it snowed, the ground seemed to take on a white blanket, while the trees sparkled with white lights, interspersed amongst snow and icicles.

This year, snow had come early to Bayville. Of course it may have had something to do with Bobby's slight power surge a few days beforehand, but, nevertheless, the winter was as beautiful as ever.

On this particular day, Anna and Remy had ended up walking with Lorelai out to the lake, talking about a subject that had come to annoy them over the last few months.

"I just don't see the point of having Lorie christened when we're not religious." Remy shrugged. "I mean, I'll pray to the Lord all the time, but it seems a bit hypocritical of us to stand there and promise to lead her into the church when we don't go ourselves."

"I guess you're right." Anna sighed, adjusting her daughter's blankets in her pram. "But I feel like we should do something."

"How about a party?" Jamie asked.

"Well, that…" Anna stopped. "Jamie, how long have you been there?"

"I followed you out." Jamie admitted. "No one ever notices me."

"Sorry, squirt." Remy ruffled his hair. "What did you mean?"

"Well, why don't you have a welcome to the world party?" Jamie elaborated. "Like a birthday party, but not."

"You know what, kid, that's a good idea." Anna admitted, smiling at him.

"I'm not a kid!" Jamie protested, predictably.

"Of course not." Anna agreed, humouring him. "Listen, Jamie, you mind giving us a bit of privacy?"

"Kay." Jamie tweaked Lorelai's cheek and jogged off.

"I think he likes not being the youngest anymore." Remy commented, slipping an arm around her as they began walking again.

"I don't blame him." Anna shielded her eyes and looked across the frozen water; on the other side of the lake, nearer the house, a couple of people had begun an impromptu ice-hockey match. "Hey, where's Bobby and Jubes? It's not like them to miss a game."

"Good point." Remy joined her as they paused in their movements, scanning the walkway around the lake. "There they are; over by that bench."

Anna followed his gaze; sure enough, Bobby and Jubilee were strolling round the lake as well, arm in arm, deep in conversation. As she watched, Jubilee raised a hand and wiped at her face, apparently crying. Bobby stopped and brushed her hair from her face, kissing her softly.

"I think," Anna stated seriously, "that if we spent too much time with them we'd get cavities."

Remy laughed and pressed a kiss against her forehead. "You've got an interesting way of looking at things, _chérie._"

"No more interesting than yours, Swamp Rat." Anna commented absently. Unlike hers, his name had begun as an insult, but slipped into a pet-name when they began dating.

Remy chuckled and cupped her face. "_Je t'adore, mon ange._"

"I love you too." Anna met his kiss for a few minutes, still thanking every higher power that she could think of that she could now do this and feel his skin on hers.

As they continued to walk, their steps took them around the edge of the lake and passed the bridge that crossed over the small stream that ran into the larger body of water.

For those who bothered to wander down this way – which consisted only of Rogue and Lexa – they found a peaceful haven where the stream originated from a small forest spring.

Despite the cold weather, the spring was still bubbling and Remy pulled a blanket from underneath Lorelai's pram and laid it on the ground so they could sit down.

Hearing Lorelai start to fuss, Anna lifted her up and rocked her gently. "Good girl, Lorie."

"You know, I never pegged you as the maternal sort." Remy admitted, kissing his daughter's forehead.

"Neither did I." Anna laughed quietly. "I guess it's an instinct thing."

"Anna…"

Remy's voice was quiet and his tone even, but it caught Anna's attention immediately.

After her powers had emerged, her thoughts and memories had been so jumbled with everyone she had absorbed that she couldn't even remember her own name. When she finally did, she kept it quiet; as far as she was concerned, the closer a person was to you, the easier it was for them to hurt you.

She had told Remy before anyone else and that was because she trusted him above all others. He was the one who had helped her finally control her powers. He was the one who had helped her through her power surge. But, despite this, he very rarely used it.

"You haven't listened to a word I've said, have you?"

Anna shook her herself out of her thoughts. "No, sorry."

Remy chuckled. "I said, when you do you think we should hold this thing?"

Anna shrugged. "Not yet, that's for sure. What with Scott and Jean planning a wedding and all; I don't think we need to add to the chaos."

"_Mon dieu_…" Remy shuddered at the thought. "She'd kill us."

"How about August?" Anna suggested. "That gives us two months to recover from the wedding in June."

"Okay, but on one condition." Remy told her.

"Oh?" Anna raised an eyebrow. "And what might that be?"

Remy grinned at her. "That we change your name first."

"What's wrong with my name?" Anna asked blankly. "Wait a minute … Did you mean …?"

Remy lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it softly. "I love you, Anna. Will you marry me?"

"Oh God …" Anna reached up and kissed him. "Yes. Yes, of course."

Lorelai made a small noise from Anna's lap; not quite a cry, but a noise nonetheless. Remy chuckled and lifted her into the air. "I can't keep your Momma's attention for more than a few minutes with you around, can I?"

Lorelai gurgled happily as Remy pulled Anna closer to him as well. The young couple stayed there for the rest of the day, just happy to be with each other and the little girl once thought impossible.

**

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AN: Short, I know, and my first attempt at a solely Romy fic. Review please!**


	2. Visit

**Disclaimer: XME doesn't belong to me! Neither does the Thieves' Guild.**

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Chapter Two – Visit

"Why are we here?"

The hissed question caused Anna to stop and sigh wearily. "We're here, Remy, because it's the right thing to do."

The 'here' in question was an airport in New Orleans and the 'right thing to do' was for Anna to meet Remy's family, since he'd met hers, all … two of them. Jean-Luc LeBeau, Remy's father, had phoned to tell his son that the three families – the Thieves, the Assassins and the Rippers – had come to a truce a month ago and Anna had quickly convinced Remy that they could do with a break.

"But Anna…" Remy protested.

"No 'buts'." Anna stated firmly. "'Sides, they'll want to meet Lorelai, won't they? I refuse to believe that they are as bad as you say."

"You have no idea." Remy muttered, placing a protective arm around her waist.

"We're not moving down here." Anna pointed out. "It's only a week and then, if you never want to talk to them again, that's fine."

"Alright." Remy grumbled. "But I'll hold you to that."

The weather in New Orleans was even nicer than that of New York, Anna noted as they stepped out from the cool shelter of the airport and into the heat of the street outside. She adjusted the parasol attached Lorelai's stroller to shelter her daughter from the sun and promptly raised another one over her and her fiancé's heads, feeling glad that she'd dressed for warmth when she left home.

She didn't own many summer dresses, opting for shorts instead in the summer, but she knew that the temperature down South called for nothing more than a cool cotton dress, like the white one she was wearing now. Now that she came to think about it, she didn't own many white clothes either, but she was grateful for this one.

Remy led them down the high street, pointing out different sights and places and people that he remembered. Anna noted that many people glanced at them, and she couldn't help wondering if they knew who they were or just recognised them from somewhere and couldn't place it.

In actuality, it was that the two looked the perfect Southern couple, but no one was going to tell _them _that.

After what seemed like an age, their surroundings became sparser and sparser and the scenery became wilder and wilder until they were standing at the edge of a swamp.

"The Guild lives in the middle of _that_?" Anna asked dubiously, wondering, for the first time, if they were doing the right thing.

"Yeah." Remy smirked. "Backing out?"

"No." Anna rolled her eyes. "But how are we going to get over there?"

"By boat of course." Remy led them to the end of the jetty, where there was an airboat roped to one of the stakes.

Carefully, they transferred their suitcases over, then Anna lifted Lorelai out of her stroller so Remy could collapse it and add it to their luggage. Once they were all settled in the boat, Remy untied it and started the engine, steering it expertly through the maze of trees.

Fully awake now, Lorelai sat on her mother's lap, wide-eyed at her surroundings. Nearby, an alligator lifted its head from the water and she squealed delightedly.

Anna groaned and tightened her grip, lest her child decide to go swimming. "She's your daughter."

Remy chuckled and nodded towards something behind her. "_Mon frère_ is waiting for us."

Anna glanced over her shoulder to see a man standing on another jetty. "Do they know I'm coming?"

"No." Remy smirked. "I thought I'd surprise them."

"Swamp Rat, I dunno what I'm gonna do with you." Anna chided as the boat came to a stop.

"_Bonjour, Remy!_" A male voice greeted from behind her.

"_Bonjour, Henri._" Remy responded, throwing his brother the rope. "Anna, give Lorie to me."

As she passed their daughter over, Anna gave him a warning look, but knew that more questions would be asked if she went simply by 'Rogue' down here.

"Allow me, _mademoiselle_."

Anna accepted Henri's hand and alighted gracefully. "_Merci_."

"Oh, Henri, this is Anna Darkholme." Remy told him, handing Lorelai over again before joining them. "_Elle est mon fiancée._"

Henri looked from Anna to Lorelai to Remy and back to Anna again. "Either he moved very quickly, or he wasn't telling us something when he came down last time."

"He wasn't telling you something." Anna answered, dropping Lorelai into the reassembled stroller.

"Well, in my defence, I didn't know all of it." Remy reminded her, brushing a kiss against her forehead.

"How's Mercy?" Remy asked, as they began the trek up to the house. "My sister-in-law." He explained, seeing the curious expression on his fiancée's face.

"Oh, she's fine. She'll be very happy to see you." Henri answered. "Actually, we're expecting a baby at Christmas."

"Oh, congratulations!" Anna offered. "Do you know if it's a boy or a girl yet?"

"_Non, _not yet." Henri shook his head. "But … Rem?"

Anna glanced over her shoulder to see that Remy had stopped in his tracks. "You'll have to excuse him; I didn't get a chance to tell him I was pregnant before I went into labour, so he hasn't been able to do the whole 'reaction' thing yet." She grabbed his arm and pulled. "Come on, Gambit; time to start moving again."

In a daze, Remy rejoined them. "_Désolé_, Henri. I thought you said that Mercy was pregnant."

"I did." Henri confirmed. "I must admit, I thought we'd be the first with this news."

Anna smiled down at her daughter. "Well, I hope she doesn't think I'm stealing her thunder."

"_Non_, she'll be glad to have someone to talk to." Henri assured her.

"_Ici._" Remy murmured in her ear.

Anna glanced up to see a Southern mansion, nothing like what she'd pictured Remy's family to be living in and definitely not what she'd expect to find in the bayou.

The front door opened and a pretty blonde practically flew out and into Remy's arms, hugging him tightly.

"Easy, _petite_!" Remy laughed. "Shouldn't you be taking it easy?"

"I'm only three months!" She laughed.

"True." Remy agreed. "Anna, this is Mercy. Mercy, this is _mon fiancée_, Anna Darkholme and our daughter, Lorelai."

Like her husband, Mercy was momentarily taken aback, but she recovered quickly and embraced Anna affectionately. "I was beginning to think that Remy would never meet someone." She bent to greet Lorelai as well. "Oh, she's beautiful! How old is she?"

"Nine months." Anna answered with a smile. "October 27th."

Mercy fixed Remy with a glare. "You left the poor girl pregnant while you came down here to rescue your ex-fiancée?"

"In my defence, she told me to and I didn't know she was pregnant." Remy protested.

"_I_ didn't know I was pregnant." Anna added. "I didn't figure it out for two months."

"Well, you know Jean-Luc won't be happy." Mercy warned Remy.

"_Je sais_." Remy responded. "That's why I'm taking Anna and Lorie in with me."

"Oh, I was wondering why I was here." Anna lifted her daughter out of the stroller and set her on her hip. "Very well, lead on."

"You're a brave woman." Henri told her. "Follow me."

Remy offered his arm to Anna, who took it with just a hint of apprehension, and they followed the older man through elaborate hallways to a closed door.

Henri knocked firmly. "_Père, _Remy's here."

"Send him in."

Henri gestured to the door. "You heard the man."

Taking a deep breath, Remy pushed the door open and led Anna inside a grand office. The man seated at the desk was in his late forties, maybe early fifties, with dark brown hair streaked with grey that was tied back into a ponytail. His dark eyes travelled over his adopted son, before moving onto the young woman with him and the baby in her arms.

Lorelai was very obviously her parents' daughter, from the white streak in her dark hair to the red appearing in her baby-blue eyes.

"_Bonjour, Jean-Luc._" Remy greeted, shaking his hand.

"Remy." Jean-Luc nodded at Anna. "Please tell me you had more sense than to knock some girl up."

Anna put a calming hand on Remy's arm. "My name is Anna Darkholme, sir. I'm Remy's fiancée. And this is our daughter, Lorelai. She's nine months old."

Jean-Luc raised an eyebrow. "Does Belladonna know?"

"I should hope so." Remy answered. "She played midwife for us. If I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times, Bella's my sister. Nothing more, nothing less. She knew I was leaving; she asked me to. And she asked me to come back and stop her wedding too. That's why I came back. With Anna's blessing, of course." He added, glancing at his fiancée.

"In other words, I told him to help her or I'd hurt him." Anna supplied with a small smile.

Jean-Luc laughed warmly and stood up. "I was wondering if Remy would ever meet a girl who could keep him in line. Clearly he has." He shook Anna's hand firmly and kissed Lorelai's forehead. "Remy, your Tante Mattie's been asking after you; she'll never forgive you if you don't go see her right now."

"_Merci_." Remy muttered, taking Anna's arm again.

Anna waited until they were out of earshot. "So what's the problem? Seemed like a nice enough guy to me."

"Yeah, well, he likes you." Remy told her. "If he knew about your powers, he'd be a lot more, well …" He cleared his throat. "But that's another story." He led her down another few corridors until the scent of spices hit them.

Anna took a deep breath. "Mmm, I missed Southern cooking."

"Yeah, there's nothing quite like it, is there?" Remy agreed, pushing the nearest door open to reveal a woman with greying-brown hair bent over a cooking pot. He waited until she'd replaced the ingredient in her hand before calling out. "Tante Mattie!"

Mattie turned around and her face lit up in a beautiful smile as she hurried over and embraced her nephew. "Remy! _Mon garçon, c'est fantastique!_" Before she could continue, her eyes fell on Anna and Lorelai. "_Mon Dieu!_ Remy, why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't want the Assassins or the Rippers to find out." Remy protested. "Anna, this is _ma tante_ Mattie. Tante Mattie, this is _ma fiancée_, Anna Darkholme, and our daughter, Lorelai."

Mattie cocked her head to one side and seemed to size Anna up, gesturing for her to turn around, which she did, feeling a little nervous. Finally, the older woman smiled. "Remy, she's lovely. Welcome to the family, chere."

"Thank you, ma'am." Anna smiled.

"What's for dinner, Tante Mattie?" Remy asked, peering into the pot.

"Gumbo, of course." Mattie told her. "It's Friday."

"Ah, yes." Remy said reminiscently. "Gumbo night."

"I thought Logan's nickname was appropriate." Anna commented. "Oh, Logan's one of the instructors at the school we live at." She explained, seeing Mattie's curious expression. "He tends to give nicknames to the students; I'm Stripes and Remy's Gumbo."

"It's a play on Gambit, I think." Remy added. "Lorie, this is Tante Mattie."

Mattie wiped her hands on her apron and took the child into her arms, cooing to her in French. As Lorelai gurgled back, the woman looked up at the couple. "She has your eyes, Remy. Is she showing signs of being mutant?"

"Well, she blows up her teddies if you don't reach her in time." Remy answered. "So sort of."

"I'm glad she got your powers." Anna murmured, leaning into him. "I'd never have forgiven myself if she got mine."

"Anna has power and memory absorption." Remy told Mattie. "When we met, she couldn't control her powers; any skin contact and the other person would be … how did you put it, chere?"

"Out like a light." Anna shuddered. "Still, all in the past now."

Like Remy, Mattie was clearly one of this people who didn't judge things like that. Shifting Lorelai to one side, she embraced Anna as well. "Things always work out in the end."

"Yeah." Anna agreed, smiling up at her fiancé as he joined the hug as well. "They do."

**

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AN: I asked; you answered; I delivered; now, it's your turn! Review please!**


	3. Wedding

**Disclaimer: XME doesn't belong to me.**

**Wow. The response to that last chapter shocked me. I must admit, I hadn't planned on doing another chapter, but since it went down so well; here it is!**

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There was very little that could make Rogue admit that she was nervous.

Today, she was terrified.

In the mirror, she caught sight of Kitty smirking at her and scowled. "What?"

Kitty giggled. "You're so nervous! That's what! Calm down!"

Anna fiddled with her dress. "But what if…?"

Kitty reached out and still her hands. "Anna, you love him; he loves you. 'What if' doesn't come into it."

"Are you telling me you wouldn't be nervous?" Anna demanded.

"I didn't say that." Kitty reminded her. "If it was me getting married today, you'd be the one telling me not to worry and calm down."

Anna sighed. "True."

"Are Remy's family coming?" Kitty asked, lifting her son from the playpen when he began fussing.

"Some of them." Anna twisted her hair up, trying to work out what she would do with it.

It was just over a year since she and Remy had visited New Orleans. They had been forced to push the wedding back when it came down to it, because of what looked like it could be Apocalypse's return, but turned out to be a false alarm.

Now it was August of the following year, Lorelai would be two years old in October, and it was the morning of Anna and Remy's wedding.

What Anna hadn't taken into account was how long her hair had grown.

"Hang on." Kitty told her, trying to return the baby to the crib, but he clung to her. "Liam, not now!"

"He's used to having your full attention." Anna told her. "You will notice that my daughter is behaving herself."

Both women glanced over to where the toddler was sat in the playpen, making towers of building blocks, before knocking them down and giggling delightedly.

"You will also notice that Lorelai is a daddy's girl." Kitty shot back. "Liam, I need to help Auntie Anna now, sweetheart; would you please…" She was cut off by a knock at the door. "Who is it?"

"It's me, Kitten."

"Just you?" Kitty asked.

"Well, not Remy."

Satisfied, Kitty opened the door to her boyfriend, immediately noticing the blonde woman behind him holding a baby. "Hey, Lance; what's up?"

"Three things." Lance sighed. "Firstly, Remy wants me to make sure that Anna hasn't vanished into thin air. Secondly, this young lady is about to become Anna's sister-in-law. Thirdly, do you want me to take Liam?"

"Okay." Kitty smiled at the other woman. "Firstly, of course she hasn't. Secondly, hi, come in. Thirdly, oh God, yes please. Okay, Liam, time to go to Daddy now." She kissed her son's head and handed him over to his father, who kissed her quickly and departed. "Hi, I'm Kitty Pryde."

"Mercy LeBeau." Mercy shook her hand. "And actually I'm Remy's sister-in-law." She lifted her hip slightly. "And this is Etienne."

"I'm so glad I had a girl." Anna mused, hugging her. "How are you?"

"Exhausted." Mercy admitted. "But enough about me; you're getting married! That's such a beautiful dress!"

"Thank you." Anna glanced in the mirror again.

If she was being completely honest, she hadn't wanted a 'white' wedding dress, but Kitty had insisted that she try some on and she was glad she did. The cream dress had a bodice that looked like it could have been painted on, which flowed down into a long skirt.

"Have you got a veil?" Mercy asked.

"No." Anna admitted. "Although I might need to ask Pietro to get one if I can't figure out what I'm going to do with my hair."

Kitty sighed and swung a chair around in front of the mirror. "Sit. And be careful of your dress. Now hold still and let me handle it."

In Remy's room, the men were having a similar conversation; Remy was pacing up and down, Henri was sniggering and Lance was lounging in one of the chairs, trying to take Liam's mind off of his mother.

"Remy…"

"If you even _think_ about telling me to 'calm down'," Remy snapped, "I swear I will hurt you; team-mate or no team-mate! How can you expect me to calm down?"

Lance coughed sheepishly. "Actually I was going to say that you're…er…you're flying low, man."

Remy glanced down. "Oh, thanks."

"You're worrying too much, _mon frère_." Henri told him. "I wasn't this nervous when I married Mercy."

"No." Remy agreed. "By all accounts, you were worse."

"I don't even know _why_ you're so worried." Lance admitted, lifting Liam above his head. "I mean, you're marrying the woman you love today. You get to be with her for the rest of your lives. What's the panic?"

"Oh yeah?" Remy raised an eyebrow. "If it's that simple, why haven't you and Kitty headed down the aisle yet?"

"Because when I ask her I want it to be a surprise." Lance answered. "That's why. And my girlfriend is very intelligent; she'd guess what I was up to before I knew myself. But that doesn't answer my question. What's the panic?"

Remy sank into the other chair. "Because…haven't you ever looked at Kitty and wondered why she's with you?"

"All the time, actually." Lance admitted. "Every single day I look at her and wonder when she's going to come to her senses. She deserves so much better than me, but for some reason," he shrugged, "here I am. And I thank God for it every day."

"Exactly." Remy agreed. "And it's the same with Anna. I've got another hour until we get married. And in that time, she may well realise that she deserves better than me."

"But she won't!" Lance protested. "You two are perfect for each other!"

"And you and Kitty are perfect for each other." Remy rebutted. "But you're doing it too."

Henri sighed. "Well, if you're both going to spill your guts, I guess I'd better as well. I constantly feel that Mercy deserves better than me."

Remy didn't hesitate. "That's because she does, _mon ami_."

Henri rolled his eyes. "Thanks."

"Ready?" Jean asked. "Oh, Anna, you look beautiful!"

Anna gave her a rare smile "Thank you. So do y'all." She added, glancing around at her four bridesmaids.

It hadn't been easy finding dresses – and colours – that suited Jean, Wanda, Kitty and Mercy, but she had managed it and all four were dressed in simple pale blue dresses and carrying small bouquets of sky blue delphiniums.

Kitty peeked through the door. "Ready. Lorie, sweetheart, you know what to do?"

Also dressed in pale blue, Lorelai nodded and toddled through the door, carefully dropping blue petals from the small basket she was holding. At Kitty's nod, Jean took Scott's arm and followed her.

"Why'd Remy pick Scott?" Wanda asked in a whisper as John offered her his arm.

"God only knows." John muttered as he led her out into the grounds.

"Okay, now you two." Kitty prompted.

Seeing as Henri was the best man and Kitty was the maid of honour, Lance would be escorting Mercy in and they followed suit.

Henri offered his arm with a bow. "_Mademoiselle_?"

Kitty handed Anna her bouquet – a ring of the same blue flowers around white roses – and took his arm, falling into step beside him.

"Ready?"

Anna smiled up at Logan – who had agreed to give her away – and nodded. "As I'll ever be."

The music changed and everyone in the marquee stood up, twisting their heads to see the bride make her way between the rows of seats, her smile radiant.

When they reached the front, Logan kissed her forehead and released her, giving Remy a very clear warning glance over her head. As Anna slipped her hand into Remy's, she glanced to her right and saw Kurt grinning at her, sitting between Amanda and, to her surprise, Mystique, with Irene on her other side. She gave the four of them a smile and pulled herself back to the man in front of them as the minister began talking.

If she was asked later, Anna would admit that she remembered very little of the actual ceremony, until it came to the important bit.

"Do you, Remy LeBeau, take Anna to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, until death parts you?"

Remy didn't hesitate. "I do."

"Do you, Anna Darkholme, take Remy to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, until death parts you?"

Neither did she. "I do."

"Then by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

And, of course, Remy did, prompting several whistles from the more rowdier males in the audience, which in turn prompted several smacks from said males' girlfriends.

And then it was the reception, which began amidst hugs, tears and congratulations and continued on in much the same way.

As everyone sat down for dinner, there were several things to get through first: the speeches. Henri stood first and spoke of a time when he thought Remy would never settle down, prompting laughs from his audience and glares from his brother.

Then it was Kitty's turn. "Anna, I've known you for nearly six years and I have to admit, if you'd told me back then that we'd be friends, let alone that I'd be your maid of honour, I'd have thought you were crazy." She paused. "Mind you, if you'd told me there'd be a wedding for me to be maid of honour at, I'd have thought you were crazy."

Several people laughed.

"And yet you became the sister I never had." Kitty continued. "Someone I could rely on, a shoulder to cry on … and I did pay for dry-cleaning before you bring that up."

Anna grinned at her, knowing she'd made that joke several times to cheer the younger woman up.

"And that day when you told me that you were going out to keep an eye on our future Mrs. Allerdyce out there," Kitty winked at Amara, who blushed, "I had no idea that you'd come back and tell me that you'd just met the man you were going to marry. Of course you didn't word it quite like that. In fact, I think your exact greeting was along the lines of: "From now on, Jeannie can do her own dirty work. Damn Swamp Rat.""

Now most of the audience laughed, because they knew that Anna would have said that and Kitty's imitation was very accurate.

"And yet here we are." Kitty continued. "Your wedding day. Again, I won't lie; I thought it'd be me first, but life is full of surprises."

"Yeah, Lance, take the hint." Bobby called.

Kitty sighed. "Yes, thank you, Mr. Drake. The fact remains that this is your wedding and life is full of surprises. So saying, I hope that your lives are full of only the good ones and are long, healthy and happy; congratulations, you two. You really deserve each other." She bowed in acknowledgement and sat down. "Now all you need to do is worry about the honeymoon."

**

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AN: Hmm, it seems I may need to change the name; only the first chapter has anything to do with winter…Oh well. As always, review and tell me what you think! And if you liked this story, check out what started it: 'All's Fair in Love and War', presently going through a rewrite!**


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